Warehouse pallet-rack safety netting system

ABSTRACT

A pallet rack safety net system comprises two parallel horizontal wire ropes that are stretched along the top and bottom edges of a shelf opening. A pair of hung left and right screens of flexible netting are attached between the top and bottom wire ropes so that they can be horizontally separated at the middle of the shelf opening. The inside vertical edges of each screen are finished with a metal bar and a clasp so the screens can be latched together at the middle. The outside left and right edges of the screens are secured to the outside of the shelf opening. If used on a top shelf that has no supports at each side of the opening, a pair of support posts are included that hold aloft the top horizontal wire rope. A network of stays and guys are used to reinforce each such post.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to material-handling systems, and moreparticularly to safety netting that contains product on overhead shelvesand that protect workers and customers below in the aisles.

2. Description of Related Art

Shelves and racks are a convenient way to store items, and stored manylevels high such can maximize floor space. A typical warehouse retailstore like The Home Depot has pallet racks that are two, three, and fourlevels high. Heavy items, like backup store inventory on a pallet, isplaced and fetched from high above by a forklift.

Heavy items placed ten to twenty feet high above aisles in pallet racksand on shelves can present a significant and not-so-rare personal injuryrisk. Shaking, bumping, and poorly stacked items can come tumbling downand hurt people below, or at a minimum damage the product.

Not surprisingly, a number of different devices and methods have evolvedto address these problems. The Law too has entered the picture with OSHAregulations, and personal injury lawsuits. New company procedures, unionwork rules, and plain common sense now dictate that an effectiverestraint, barrier, or guard system be installed on the higher shelvesand rack to prevent falling debris.

As could be expected, some methods and devices are better than others.Conventional safety products can be expensive to buy, and difficult towork with or install. A simple netting secured all around the shelfopening can be effective if the netting is strong enough and securedwell. But the way the netting is secured and constructed can meanopening the net to access the shelf is made very difficult, in somecases requiring a technician to climb high above and use hand tools toopen and/or close the net.

Sinco/Sala (Middletown, Conn.), InCord (East Haddam, Conn.), and othersmarket rack guard systems use different kinds of barriers and attachmenthardware. For example, Sinco/Sala uses a nylon mesh that is stretchedinside a perimeter frame of taught wire rope. So-called EZ-clips areused to attach the netting to the wire rope frame. InCord markets theirSURE-GARD™ synthetic mesh that is able to stretch under load. A varietyof mesh-size openings are offered for a range of contained item typesand sizes.

A MEZZNET-DEFENSE-SYSTEM™ is marketed by BayNets (East Haddam, Conn.)that raises and lowers flexible netting hung from a rod that is guidedup and down by a pair of side posts. Open-sided mezzanines with thesesystems are accessed by operating a cable and pulley system thatconnects to the rod and runs inside the two side posts. The cable andpulleys can be manually cranked, or powered by an electric motor.BayNets' advertising literature suggests that these systems meet federalOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fall-protectionstandards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, a pallet rack safety netting embodiment of the presentinvention comprises two parallel horizontal wire ropes that arestretched along the top and bottom edges of a shelf opening. A pair ofhung left and right screens of flexible netting are attached between thetop and bottom wire ropes so that they can be horizontally separated atthe middle of the shelf opening. The inside vertical edges of eachscreen are finished with a metal bar and a clasp so the screens can belatched together at the middle. The outside left and right edges of thescreens are secured to the outside of the shelf opening. If used on atop shelf that has no supports at each side of the opening, a pair ofsupport posts are included that hold aloft the top horizontal wire rope.A network of stays and guys are used to reinforce each such post.

An advantage of the present invention is that a safety netting isprovided that is effective.

Another advantage of the present invention is that a safety netting isprovided that is easy to install.

A further advantage of the present invention is that safety nettingsystems are provided that are simple to operate.

The above and still further objects, features, and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of specific embodiments thereof,especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety netting system embodiment ofthe present invention installed on a pallet rack shelving unit;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams representing the opening and-closing of thescreens and the use of the clasp; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the safety netting system of FIG. 1 withthe addition of guy wire stays that reinforce the posts above the topshelf of the pallet rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a safety netting system embodiment of the presentinvention, referred to herein by the reference numeral 100. The safetynetting system 100, in this example, comprises three screened sections,101-103, that are attached to a pallet rack 104. Such combination wouldbe used in an ordinary warehouse, or in a warehouse store like The HomeDepot. The principle purpose of the safety netting system 100 is to keepobjects on the overhead shelves of the pallet rack 104 from falling downonto the floor, for whatever reason. Each of the three sections of thesafety netting system 100 is exemplified by section 101, which includesa top horizontally strung wire rope 105 and a bottom strung wire rope106. A left-screen bar 108 and a right-screen bar 110 are configured toslide along the wire ropes and close at the middle with a snap latch112.

A left screen 114 is fixed at its left edge to the framework of thepallet rack 104. Similarly, a right screen 116 is fixed at its rightedge at the opposite side of the shelf opening to the pallet rackframework. The screens comprise flexible netting of nylon rope, chainlink fencing, rigid vertical links, etc. A set of posts 118, 120, and122 are added to the top of the pallet rack 104 to hold aloft the topwire rope 105. Each such post may be guyed or stayed like the main mastof a sailboat if the vertical frame members of the pallet rack 104cannot be supplied as one solid piece of box-beam or I-beam steel. Ifthe loads to be secured on the top shelves are especially heavy anddangerous, it is preferable to guy and stay the posts 118, 120, and 120in every instance.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate how the screens of system 100, for example,are latched together (FIG. 2A) and separated (FIG. 2B). A top and bottompair of parallel wire ropes 201 and 202 are stretched taut between arigid pair of vertical support posts 203 and 204. A left and a rightdraw screen 206 and 208 are made of flexible netting, e.g., made ofnylon rope. A number of loops top and bottom allow the screens to slideleft and right on the wire ropes. The left screen 206 is secured withwire loops or hooks to the left post 203. And the right screen 208 issecured at its right edge with wire loops or hooks to the right post204. A rigid left bar 210 finishes the right edge of the left screen206. A rigid right bar 212 similarly finishes the left edge of the rightscreen 208. These rigid bars help close up a gap between them and thescreens when a latch 214 is secured.

FIG. 3 shows how a vertical post can be reinforced and stiffened. In arack storage system 300 similar to pallet system 100 in FIG. 1, a pairof wire stays 302 and 304 crisscross one another from anchor plates 306,308, and 310. A back stay 312 further supports a vertical post 314. Eachsimilar post preferably receives an identical combination of wire stays,anchor plates, and back stays. These then all resist any tendency of theposts to fold or distort under load.

Although particular embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed and illustrated, such is not intended to limit the invention.Modifications and changes will no doubt become apparent to those skilledin the art, and it is intended that the invention only be limited by thescope of the appended claims.

1. A safety device for preventing objects from falling, comprising: apair of horizontally disposed top and bottom wire ropes for stretchingabove and below a shelf opening, a pair of left and right screens forsliding attachment between the top and bottom wire ropes such that theycan be horizontally separated at the middle, and wherein outside edgesof each screen can be fixed to said shelf opening to the left and right;a left metal bar attached to a right edge of the left screen; a rightmetal bar attached to a left edge of the right screen; and a clasp forlatching and unlatching the left and right bars together for securingand accessing objects stored behind the screens. 2-6 (cancelled)
 7. Asafety device for preventing objects from falling off a shelf,comprising: a pair of horizontally disposed top and bottom ropes forstretching above and below a shelf opening; a pair of left and rightscreens for sliding attachment between the top and bottom ropes suchthat each screen can be horizontally separated at the middle, andwherein outside edges of each screen can be fixed to shelf opening tothe left and right; a left bar attached to a right edge of the leftscreen; a right bar attached to a left edge of the right screen; and aclasp for latching and unlatching the left and right bars together forsecuring and accessing objects stored on said shelf behind the screens.8. The safety device of claim 7, further comprising: a pair of left andright posts for extending above a top shelf and for providing mechanicalsupport to the top rope.
 9. The safety device of claim 8, wherein: saidoutside edges of each screen are fixed to the left and right posts. 10.The safety device of claim 7, wherein: the screens comprise flexiblenetting stretched between the top and bottom ropes.